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Story by ridertown.com
CELINA, OHIO - St. Marys' red zone defense proved to be a wall Celina simply could not penetrate.
The Roughriders stuffed the Bulldogs three times inside the 10-yard line in the first half, and then went to post a 34-7 victory Friday at Bulldog Stadium on the west shores of Lake St. Marys.
Celina ran 41 plays in the first half compared to just 16 for the Riders. But it's not how long you have the ball, but what you do with it.
The Bulldog offense moved the ball well at times, blocked two St. Marys punts and recovered two Roughrider fumbles, but still trailed 14-0 at halftime.
Celina turned the ball over on downs four times in the first half at the St. Marys 3, 24, 8 and 1 yard lines.
The Roughrider offense struggled early on as it took a key turnover to get the Big Blue moving. Scott Vossler intercepted a pass deep in Celina territory, returning it to the Bulldog three-yard line as time ran out in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter Tyler Sampson scored on a three-yard sneak. Stephen Kill added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
The Roughriders needed just one more offensive play to make it 14-0, as Chuck Owens scored on a 76-yard run the very next time the offense touched the ball.
Following an exchange of possessions early in the second half, the Roughriders got rolling again thanks to Vossler's second pick of the game. This time Vossler returned to the Celina six, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Nathan Homan with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
Following a three-and-out by the Celina offense, St. Marys went back to work. Homan, who was bottled up for most of the first half, carried the ball on five of the Riders first six plays of the drive, moving the ball inside the Bulldog 10. From there Owens hit paydirt again, this time from eight yards out. Kill's fourth PAT made the score 28-0 with 8:11 left to play.
Celina finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, as sophomore quarterback Joe Kanney completed a 32-yard pass to Tim Homan and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Mosier with 5:19 to play.
It didn't take the Riders long to get those points back. Following a very short kick and penalty, Homan ran a dive play for 49 yards for the final score.
Homan finished with 124 yards on 19 carries. Owens also finished in triple digits with 101 yards on just four carries, while Kill rambled for 78 yards of 10 carries. The Riders finished with 343 yards rushing.
Kanney had a big night for the Dogs, completing 14 of 29 passes for 155 yards, including two interceptions and a touchdown. Mosier led the Bulldog ground attack with 64 yards on 13 carries.
The Riders, now 8-1 overall , will host Defiance, also 8-1, next Friday in what appears to be a battle for second place in the Western Buckeye League. Kenton all but wrapped up the title with a big win over O-G Friday, leaving only winless Elida in the Wildcats' path to the championship.
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